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INVESTING: Ebay still shines among techies despite poor quarter

So Ebay Inc. got clocked last week. The stock dropped 20 percent in one day after reporting earnings that missed the consensus estimate. Money managers all over were shaking their heads after getting so used to the company’s easily beating estimates, then raising the bar for the next quarter. Ebay’s story is amazing and I am impressed by the management of the company and the still-dominating stock price. Ebay is one of the most recognized brands around and the company…

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Sale of parent company brings local agency growth: Roman Brand nets record billings year after buyout

Fourteen months after parting from Bates USA, Roman Brand Group is growing quickly. With its new name and a pledge from its new parent company to give the local firm more control, the advertising agency increased revenue 15 percent and added 17 new clients in 2004. Roman Brand CEO Dan Roman projects similar growth in 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based WPP Group and its U.S. advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. WPP Group bought Bates’ former parent company,…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Testing is secret to worthwhile Web site tinkering

I’ve just been reading yet another article giving advice for building commercial Web sites. It’s by a recognized authority named Saul Carliner, at Boxes and Arrows (www.boxesandarrows.com), itself a pretty venerable site for Web-site builders. The article draws parallels between brick-and-mortar retail stores and Web sites. For example, Carliner recommends that your site give some personal customer attention, because that’s how retailers like Nordstrom have become so successful. Store success, Web success. The implication is simple. Except that it’s not….

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Indy heart care offerings expand once again: St. Francis polishes cardiac and vascular center

Furniture movers and technology testers have taken center stage as St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers prepares to become the latest Indianapolis provider to flex its cardiac care muscle. On March 1, St. Francis will accept the first patient for a $70 million Cardiac Vascular Care Center addition to its south campus. The new center will include an operating room with the latest electronic connections to patient information among other selling points. One item it won’t provide is a conclusive…

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Terminal move might spur land rush: Midfield project to free choice real estate

Overshadowed by the $974 million midfield terminal project is a potential economic development bonanza: the reuse of the existing terminal and surrounding land at Indianapolis International Airport. More than 120 acres along Interstate 465 that today hold parked cars might someday house hotels, shipping operations or even a light-rail station after the midfield terminal opens in about three years. Another 54 acres representing the terminal and its immediate surroundings will be available for aviation uses from air freight to corporate…

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Incubator shakeup puts prez under fire: Rose-Hulman Ventures in turmoil after resignations

But outside his camp, others at Rose-Hulman are calling for Midgley’s scalp. They fear the man who replaced Samuel Hulbert in July is another George Armstrong Custer. A pair of sudden resignations at nationally renowned business incubator Rose-Hulman Ventures provoked the skirmish that now threatens to become an all-out assault on Midgley’s leadership. “We cannot trust him,” said a Rose-Hulman dean who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This is by far not the only time I have felt this way,…

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Indiana IPOs break out of recent slump: Kite Realty, Republic Airways, Adesa among 5 state firms to test public waters

Hoosier-based companies registered five initial public offerings last year, a robust number considering not a single Indiana business went public in 2003. The uptick could signal the state’s economy, as well as the nation’s, is on the mend. Nationally, 233 companies raised $43 billion collectively to go public on the major U.S. stock exchanges in 2004, a 195-percent increase in the number of IPOs over 2003. And the performance could be even stronger this year, said Richard Peterson, a market…

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VIEWPOINT: We stand on the shoulders of black business giants

In a recent conversation with a family member regarding the lack of African-American businesses in the high technology, life sciences and larger manufacturing arenas, I began to wonder, “What are the barriers that prevent African-Americans from entering business? Are conditions worse now than in the past when we seemed to have greater representation in these areas?” Some will say it is the lack of access to capital. Some will point to the continued aura of racism and prejudice, while still…

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VIEWPOINT: We’re trying to save the wrong brains

I always wonder what people are talking about when they lament Indiana’s “brain drain.” Statistics usually follow, detailing the college graduates taking jobs in other states. It is perhaps a contrarian’s viewpoint, but we should, in fact, encourage these young people to go seek their fortunes. The fact that they are leaving is a symptom, not the problem. Our problem is there are not enough Hoosiers who can create the jobs that could employ our young graduates. We do have…

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Purdue, IU out to bolster their life sciences futures: Both universities invest millions in biomedical pursuits Grants help growth ‘A new kind of engineer’

Whenever Indiana and Purdue universities get together on the hardwood or the debate arena, the rivalry is intense. But as various public and private players around the state put on a full-court press for Indiana’s life sciences future, the schools have teamed up like a dynamic backcourt duo. The Scientist, a biweekly publication delivered to 75,000 people worldwide, in November ranked Purdue No. 2 and Indiana No. 10 on a list of “Best Places to Work in Academia,” based on…

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STATEHOUSE DISPATCH: Technology advances provide Daniels with opportunity

Indiana’s new governor will obviously have the opportunity to shape a new government and plans to do so. But what has been unsaid about what the new structure may look like is how our assumptions about government and the delivery of government services have changed so radically since the last party change in the office in 1988, and even since the last election. The growth of the Internet and public acceptance of doing business online has Hoosiers now expecting that…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Conseco now seeks assets from Hilbert’s Haverstick

Attorneys for Conseco Inc. have a new target in their legal assault a g a i n s t f o r m e r C E O S t e p h e n Hilbert. It’s Haverstick Consulting Inc., the Carmelbased company Hilbert now leads. In court papers filed last week in Hamilton County, Conseco attorneys charge that Hilbert and his wife, Tomisue, transferred millions of dollars into Haverstick in recent years but did not receive stock of equal…

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Trucking firm to roll out own software product: Hoosier Tradewinds targets driver shortage

Carmel trucking line Hoosier Tradewinds Inc. plans to deliver an unusual product-its own software company. Tradewinds Technologies will offer an intranet portal product trucking firms can use to track everything from delivery status to driver revenue. The company will break ground by the end of next month on an 8,000-squarefoot facility at U.S. 31 and 236th Street. It also will house new corporate offices for Hoosier Tradewinds. The TIRES portal, short for Tradewinds Information Resource, will be marketed partly as…

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GERALD BEPKO Commentary: State should help insurance industry grow

GERALD BEPKO Commentary State should help insurance industry grow Everyone seems to agree that state governments must facilitate job growth and wealth creation. As pioneers in publicprivate partnerships, Indiana’s leaders have envisioned a future for Indiana that includes many partnership economi c – d eve l o p m e n t strategies. One reflection of this vision is the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership-led focus on key sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, logistics and life sciences. The priority associated with…

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Hospital grades hit Web: State says data is helpful, but should be used carefully by health care consumers

Everything from the number of services performed to the number of complaints received is covered by the new hospital consumer reports section on the department’s Web site. Health Department officials say they’ve wanted to post this information for some time to give patients a way to make more informed choices about where to seek treatment. However, the people who post the numbers and others in health care caution that the data offers only a slice of insight. Starting late last…

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INVESTING: Keeping an eye out for the next great chief executive

A client’s question recently struck me as a great thing to think about in the new year. The client wondered who would be the next Warren Buffett or Sandy Weill. The stock market exists to provide capital for industry, and in turn industry has to provide an acceptable rate of return on that capital. On a historical basis, we can easily measure the rate of return for any public company and anyone running a public company. Hence the question of…

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She makes live TV readable for the hearing impaired: Former court reporter transferred her skills to broadcast captioning, which she does from her home studio

If you’ve ever hit the mute button on your TV, you’ve probably seen the closed-captioning text at the bottom of the screen that’s provided primarily for the hearing impaired. For live TV shows, someone’s fingers have to fly on a stenotype machine to produce those captions. The National Court Reporters Association estimates there are only about 500 people in the country who can do that, and Susie Wollenweber is one of them. Working from her Indianapolis basement, Wollenweber provides broadcast…

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Dems hope for some strategic input: Indiana Economic Development Council completes state plan, but it could get lost in switch

For months, Jackie Nytes has been developing a strategy for statewide economic development. It comes off the presses this week. But the inauguration of Mitch Daniels leaves her wondering whether anyone will ever read it-let alone act on its recommendations. Nytes, a Democratic member of the City-County Council, serves as president of the Indiana Economic Development Council Inc. Daniels, the Republican governor-elect, is folding all state economic development efforts into the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The corporation, a public-private partnership,…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Talking over the Internet may be your answer

Some technologies are born inefficient, some achieve inefficiency, and some have inefficiency thrust upon them. Your computer, for example, is horribly inefficient, in an engineering sense. It sits and does nothing most of the day. It wasn’t born inefficient. It can be hooked to other computers to maximize its downtime, if you like. But your telephone is another matter. It’s intrinsically inefficient, and not just because it isn’t in use most of the time. It’s also because when you’re on…

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Services of local plastics recycler sought after: Butler-MacDonald builds foundation for growth

The company that recycles high-resin plastic like the kind found in computers was attractive to other cities, but the two decades it spent developing a skilled work force and market here made cutting its roots difficult. Instead of moving across state lines, Butler-MacDonald last month moved across Park 100. Though the 80,000-square-foot facility is only 1,000 square feet larger than its former home, the new configuration allowed for nearly $1 million worth of upgrades in machinery and infrastructure. “We were…

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